The inventor teaches in USSN 169,648 and in USSN 112,842 methods for forming a coherent beam and a coherent cluster beam of bosons having mass. In these applications which are incorporated herein by reference, it is disclosed that these beams may be charged by exposing them to charged particles and, as such, accelerated by an applied voltage. Cluster formation from gas, superstaturated gas and superfluid helium, coherency of helium (helium being comprised of bosons having mass), and accelerating particles is well known in the art. The reader is referred to: U.S. Pat. No. 4,755,344, Friedman, Jul. 5, 1988; "Cluster-Impact Fusion" by P. M. Echenique, J. R. Mousin, R. H. Ritchie Physical Review Letters, Vol. 64, No. 12, 19 March 1990 pp. 1413-1416; "Clouds of trapped Cooled Ions Condense Into Crystals", Physics Today, Sept. 1988, pp. 17-20; "Cluster-Impact Fusion", R. J. Beuhler, J. Friedlander, and L. Friedman, Physical Review Letters, Vol. 63, No. 12, 18 September 1989 pp. 1292-1295; "Phase-Diagram Considerations of Cluster Formation When Using Nozzle-Beam Sources", E. L. Knuth, W. Li, J.P. Toennies, copyright 1989, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronauts, Inc., International Symposium on Rarefied Gas Dynamics, p. 329, edited by M. Summerfield; "Cluster Ion Formation in Free Jet Expansion Processes at Low Temperatures", R. J. Beuhler and L. Friedman, copyright Verlog Chemie (mbH, D-6940 Weinheim, 1984) International Symposium on Rarefied Gas Dynamics; "Influence of Surface Roughness on the Momentum Transfer by 350-KeV Hydrogen-Cluster Ions"; W. Keller, R. Klingelhofer, B. Krevet, H. O. Moser, and R. Ries, Rev. Sci. Instrum 55(4), April 1984 pp. 468-471; "New Type of Collective Acceleration," Charles W. Hartman, James H. Hammer, Physical Review Letters, Vol. 48, No. 14, 5 April 1982 pp. 929-932; "Experimental Demonstration of Acceleration and Focusing of Magnetically Confined Plasma Rings", J. H. Haniver, Charles W. Hartman, Jr., L. Eddleman, Physical Review Letters, Vol. 61, No. 25, 19 December 1988, pp. 2843-2846, Japanese Patent 60-200448, Hitachi Seisakusho, K. K. Sep. 10, 1985; Conference Paper on "Rarefied Gas Dynamics", H. Buchenau, R. Gotting, A. Scheidemann, J. P. Toennies (1986) 15th International Symposium on Rarefied Gas Dynamics, Vol. II, p 197 (1986), edited by V. Boffi and L. Ceragnami; and "Dynamics of Atomic Collisions on Helium Clusters", Jurgen Gspann, R. Ries (Oct. 28, 1986) Physics and Chemistry of Small Clusters edited by P. Jenna, B. K. Rao and S. N. Khanna, Nato ASI Series 158, 1986, p. 199.
When considering the application of charged particles to clusters, the principal of field emission is now considered.
The principle of field emission is that for a curved surface with radius a of curvature r at a potential V, the electric field E may be defined as V/r so that for a small enough radius, say r =1.mu.m, and a potential of 1 kV, the electric field is 10.sup.7 V/cm, which is an enormous field. With this enormous field outside an atom, the electron can easily tunnel through the attractive potential and become free. This technique has been used in transmission electron microscopes to generate an electron source of very high brightness. In these devices, the cathode is made of a tungsten wire with a 1.mu.m radius and then an extra fine tip with a radius of 100 nm or less is electrolytically etched on the fine wire. For a brief description of this technology, see e.g. L. Reiner: Transmission Electron Microscope, 2nd Edition, Springer Valley (1989); paper on "Rarefied Gas Dynamics", H. Buchenau, R. Gotting, A. Scheidemann, J. P. Toennies (1986), 15th International Symposium on Rarefied Gas Dynamics, Vol. II, P. 197 (1986) edited by V. Boffi and L. Ceragnami; "Dynamics of Atomic Collisions on Helium Clusters", Jurgen Gspann, R. Ries (Oct. 28, 1986), Physics and Chemistry of Small Clusters, edited by P. Jenna, B. K. Rao and S. N. Khanna, Nato ASI Series 158, 1986, page 199. The characteristics of the electron source are
______________________________________ field strength 10.sup.7 V/cm area 10.sup.-12 m.sup.2 current density 100 A/cm.sup.2 current 1.about.10 .mu.A solid angle 0.1 radian ______________________________________
Until now, field emission technique has been used to generate electrons. Now disclosed is the use of the field emission technique to generate electrons in liquids as well as gases, that is in fluids, to charge strongly coupled or coherent clusters.